Pattern is Prologue

“I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.  Ezekiel 38:21  NKJV

The presence of Russian troops in many of the countries in the Middle East, along with the belief that Gog, does in fact, refer to Russia, has prompted many people to speculate on the possibility that the prophecies which are set to occur just before, and after the rapture of the Church, are about to be fulfilled.  I for one, agree with that idea wholeheartedly, and am of the opinion it is going to happen sooner rather than later.  As I have studied different prophecies over the years, this conflict as revealed by Ezekiel, has quite often held my attention for a number of reasons.  

If you look up the definition of the word war in any dictionary, you will most likely find something along the lines of “an armed conflict between two opposing forces or nations”.  Now that sounds fine on the surface, and most would agree that it accurately describes what we have come to know as war, yet I believe that in situations where God is on one side of the two opposing forces, history shows this might not be an entirely accurate description of what occurs on the battlefield.  Why is that you ask?  Look closely at the account in the passage from Ezekiel and tell me what “arms” are used by God to defend His people?

“Every man’s sword will be against his brother.”

As I thought about what we read here, I could not help but wonder exactly how this is going to play out in the eyes of the world when it occurs?  You have a massive army of Israel’s enemies led by Gog who descend upon the mountains of Israel, better known as the Golan Heights, with the intent to annihilate and take spoil.  Israel will no doubt be preparing to defend itself by moving massive numbers of troops and materiel northward in anticipation of the invasion.  The world will be watching with all too many hoping to see Israel finally defeated, when suddenly the entire army of Gog begins to fight against each other!

Now if this sounds a little unbelievable, I can assure you it is not the first time God chooses to use this method to defeat His enemies.  In fact, there have been several occasions when God has acted on behalf of Israel in the very same way. 

When Israel went to war against the Midianites, led by Gideon, God employed the same “tactic” allowing Israel to be victorious using only three hundred men!

“When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp;”  Judges 7:22  NKJV

Later in Israel’s history, when Saul was king, once again God uses the same “sword” to defeat the Philistines.

“Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man’s sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion.”  1 Samuel 14:20  NKJV

Do you begin to see a pattern here? The following passage details another conflict during the reign of King Jehoshaphat in the Old Testament where God chooses to do the fighting for Israel.

 “Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.‘Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.‘You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high.So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:“Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.”Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.”  2 Chronicles 20:14-23. NKJV

Watching these forces assemble had to be one of the most frightening things Israel had ever seen and yet God simply tells them “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s…….You will not need to fight in this battle.”  You have to wonder what went through King Jehoshaphat’s mind, as well as the rest of the nation of Judah when they heard these words.

As I thought this week about God’s sword being a method of confusion causing His enemies to fight against each other, my first thought was exactly how could the “media” today put a spin on this when it happens in Israel?  A new biological weapon engineered by Israel which causes “hallucinations and paranoia” when released above the battlefield?  If you think about it, do you really believe the world would admit “God” actually exists and is defending Israel?  Obviously that thought has already occurred to God because He goes on to make it clear that the entire world will know exactly who is making this all happen.

“And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord GOD, “that My fury will show in My face. “For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, ‘so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ “I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. “And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. “Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.” ’                             Ezekiel 38:18-23  NKJV

No one knows when the rapture of the Church will occur, but it certainly seems obvious from this account in Ezekiel that God has a plan to reveal Himself in such a way as to remove anyone’s claim that they did not know He exists, and that it is incumbent for mankind to make a choice to believe or not believe.  Seen in that light, it seems clear that all those left behind will be faced with making a choice to accept or reject what God will reveal to them on the day of His deliverance of Israel from Gog and his armies.  I have no doubt that the world will come up with some sort of explanation for the events described in this passage of scripture, but even if it does make some sort of sense and the media does its best to propagate it, we are told by God Himself that the world will know the truth.

My personal conviction is that this event will occur after the rapture of the Church as the removal of millions of people produces the confusion, chaos, and political upheaval necessary for Israels’ enemies to decide to attack. As so many believe this day is approaching, and the day of our deliverance is imminent, have you made your choice yet?  If you are reading this today and have never made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you to do it right now. Simply admit to God that you need His forgiveness because you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and invite Him to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit by praying a simple prayer like this;

Father, I know I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want to receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to live and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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The Secret to True Happiness

“BLESSED is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”        Psalm 1:1-6 NKJV

Years ago it would be called a diary, but now most people call it a “journal”. Whatever name it goes by, what it really does is serve as a written account of a persons deepest feelings or emotions as they struggle through life and all that the world may throw at them. Most people, however, have something in common when it comes to their written feelings, and that is they are considered extremely private and not to be shared with anyone. How interesting is it then, to discover that in the case of David, his journal was written for all of mankind to read? This is what we find the Psalms to be when we decide to read, study, and meditate on them. They are without question a window into the heart of a man that in Gods' own words is considered to be a man after His own heart. It stands to reason then that if we look closely at the heart of a man that God describes in this way, we are looking into the heart of God as well. With this thought in mind, I thought we could spend a little time looking at the first verses of Psalms and see if we can discover some truths about Gods' feelings about us.

A journal or diary usually always reveals an individuals mental or emotional state rather than a physical one. So how interesting is it to see that the very first verse in Psalms does exactly that. The Hebrew word for blessed is 'esher, which is also translated as happiness. So the subject of the first chapter of Psalms, and what God through David wants to share with us, is finding happiness in our lives as we struggle to survive in this world and the situations we often find ourselves in. After the past few years, it would appear that most of us would agree that a little more happiness might just be in order. God chooses to instruct us in this passage by comparing or contrasting two types of individuals; godly and ungodly and the different paths they choose in the pursuit of happiness.

The difference between the godly man and the ungodly is fairly simple to understand. The godly man sees God as the center of his life, and the ungodly man has no time for God, and rarely if ever even thinks about Him. While both look for, and desire, happiness in life, they choose to listen to two different sources for the answer they seek.  As you might expect, the advice from God, and the advice from the world (Satan) is much different so let’s look at what God tells us about the three differences between these two types of people, and how believers can find true happiness.

BLESSED is the man Who:

walks not in the counsel of the ungodly...the Hebrew word for counsel here means simply that the Godly man doesn't consider the advice of the ungodly world, but rather looks to God for the answers to life's problems.  Unfortunately we live in a world where people choose to pay a ‘therapist” who more than likely will tell them that the problems they face are not of their own making and that they should embrace whatever path they feel will give them the happiness they desire. The world pretends to have all the answers to our problems, but the one mistake they make is to ignore God's advice and rather come up with their own answers, which usually always revolve around “self”.  The happy believer is one who goes to God's Word to find the answers they need, and the solutions to the struggles and problems we encounter in life.

Nor stands in the path of sinners...the word “to stand” means simply to be identified with, or associated with the path or things that sinners usually do. What God is telling us in here is that as believers we are expected to be different in that we choose to live differently than the world does. I don't know how many times through the years of my ministry with youth that I would get the same questions over and over again. They always went like this; “is it okay for a Christian to do (-------)?” Now I was always happy to get this question because obviously it meant that kids were not only thinking, but they also wanted to make the choice to do the right thing. Yet it also shows how important the first advice we get in this passage is, because if we look to God for the answers, we will obviously choose to walk a different path than the unbelievers in this world.

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful...the word for ”scornful” describes not only an action, but an attitude as well. The scornful person has an attitude of arrogance which stems from the belief that everybody else is wrong and he is right, and is usually more than happy to tell everyone how right he is and how wrong you are. The believer is expected to have the opposite attitude, which from looking at the life of our Lord is easily seen to be that of humility. I don't know about you, but my experience has always been that the louder someone talks, the less I want to listen. By telling us to be humble and avoid the attitude described here, God is telling believers that happiness comes from being humble, avoiding arguments, and most of all acknowledging we are not perfect and prone to making mistakes.

So how do we do this? God says it's a matter of focus; “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night”. Something I have always tried to get across to the youth I taught was the importance of not only spending time every day in the Word, but then taking what you read with you all day and think about it and try to figure out how you can apply it in your actions. Obviously since this is what God wants from us, it follows that Satan is going to try and throw every distraction he can in your path to try and change your focus. God says that the happy believer meditates on His word all day and all night. If we choose to follow God's advice, He goes on to describe the result.

“He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper”.  Now I think most everyone can understand the illustration we are given here. Have you ever seen the difference between a tree growing in the middle of nowhere, and one that is by water? Obviously the one with an unlimited supply of water is much larger, stronger, and most of all, much more fruitful. I was fortunate to grow up in southern California at a time where there were more fruit trees than people. My uncle was an orchardist and I would often go with him  as he moved the sprinklers they used as they watered the orchards by hand. It was very obvious even to a little boy like me that you could tell the difference between a tree that got a lot of water, and one that didn't get as much.

If you are not as happy as you would like to be, I think it obvious what God is telling us here is that you should check your roots! Are your feet planted in His Word? Are you meditating on it everyday? Are you looking to God for answers and standing apart from the world? There is a saying in real estate that I'm sure most of us are familiar with; location, location, location. If we as believers are not enjoying a happy, fruitful life, maybe we should look closer at our “location”, and see just where we have planted ourselves. The unbelievers of this world are described as “chaff” which has no roots and will suffer the fate of being blown every which way depending on the advice they are given.  Believers will stand firmly, rooted in God’s Word and living according to His commands, and receive our reward for choosing to serve Him.

David knew the secret to happiness. His life, like all of ours, had its share of trouble. But I believe he is sharing with us here, in the very first verses of his very first Psalm, that he has figured out the secret to happiness and it's by planting ourselves as close to God as we can. The "counsel of the ungodly" will never give you the true happiness you are looking for and only leads to destruction.  If you have never made the decision to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and accept the free gift of eternal life He has offered you, I urge you to do so right now. You can do that by praying this prayer and accepting the gift of eternal life God has offered you by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

Father, I know I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want to receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to live and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Looking for Normalcy

“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  Matthew 24:44. NKJV

“People only look for a Savior when times are bad”.  Have you ever heard this saying?  If you think about it for a moment it certainly begins to make sense.  When things are going smoothly and the future looks bright, people tend to focus more on what they have rather than the things of above.  If we consider the passage from Matthew and focus on the phrase “at an hour you do not expect”, what exactly are we being told by our Savior?  

If asked to describe the current mood of many in this country I believe it would be accurate to use the words “cautious optimism”.  From what I have seen, read, and heard the past few weeks it would seem the majority in this country are excited and pleased to witness the change in direction of our government and the results so far in fulfilling the promises made.  The “doom and gloom” many felt in the past is being replaced and there is a very real expectation of life returning to some sense of normalcy. 

“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.“For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,“and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”  Matthew 24:37-39. NKJV

“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  Matthew 24:42. NKJV

I can’t help but wonder, however, if this is exactly the situation Jesus is warning us about in the passages above as well as most of the entire chapter of Matthew 24.  While the attention of most people is being focused on the changes we are seeing, it follows that we may not be “watching” as well as we are directed to do for the return of Christ for His Church.  One could also easily make the argument that there are similarities between the current mood of many and the description given of the mood during the days of Noah which appears to be "things as normal".  While admonishing us to watch for His return and to avoid focusing on our present circumstances. Jesus goes on to make the point that there is also another expectation for us as believers.

“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.”  Matthew 24:45-46. NKJV

It would appear that what Jesus has in mind for us in this particular time is to resist focusing on how our life here on earth may improve in the coming months and rather focus on fulfilling the task He has given to all that believe in Him and that is to be wise servants sharing and encouraging others with the gospel of Christ.  Encouraging fellow believers and sharing the good news with those who have yet to make a choice is what our Savior expects from us.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”   Romans 1:16 NKJV

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the word ashamed is that the focus is on what other people think. In other words, I am not worried about what I think, or what my convictions may or may not be, but rather I am worried about what others might think. Yet the Bible makes it clear that as believers our first and only thoughts should be about what God would want us to do, and pleasing Him.

“Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;”    1 Thessalonians 4:1 NKJV

Not only has God commanded us to share Him with an unbelieving world, it pleases Him to see us do it! Are you concerned with pleasing God, or is your focus on what someone else might think of you? I believe Paul is reminding us that we need not be ashamed to share what we believe if we remember we are following the instructions of our heavenly Father. The disciples were in this position right after Jesus commissioned them and returned to Heaven, and their response to the high priest was this;

“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men.”   Acts 5:29 NKJV

I think this makes it perfectly clear where they placed their priorities; they were much more concerned with what God would think than what the people might think. I somehow think as well that they were remembering something Jesus said during His ministry when He was sending them out to share the gospel for the first time.

"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”    Matthew 10:32 NKJV

So it would appear that what Paul wants us to know is that there is no reason to be ashamed when we are doing the will of our Father in heaven. Yet Paul goes one step further in this verse which not only sends a message to the people of Rome, but to those who choose to listen today. Notice if you will the reason Paul says he is not ashamed; it is because of the power of God! Paul was writing to the Romans, who at that time in history were the most powerful people and nation on earth. Yet what does Paul say to them but that as powerful as they were, there was a greater power that they did not possess and that was the power to give eternal life!

“What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,”   Romans 9:22 NKJV

We find here that Paul suggests God has a plan to show the world His power. I believe that God's plan is to first demonstrate that power through those who believe, and as we approach the time of tribulation begin to show His power through the shaking of His creation. Anyone who has even a basic knowledge of what occurs during the tribulation understands that God is going to exhibit His power through natural catastrophes that devastate the earth. Are we seeing the beginnings of that process even now, and is the rapture of the church imminent? Many of those who choose to watch faithfully as Jesus commanded would answer that question with an emphatic “yes”! 

Who would have thought that looking for a return to normalcy would in fact be a sign of our coming deliverance?  Yet I had a conversation recently where it was suggested that when we get to heaven we will be astonished at the number of signs we missed simply because we never considered that virtually anything could have be a sign from God if we had simply changed our earthly perspective to a heavenly one.  God’s desire is for us to be a witness of His power to an unbelieving world before He goes a step further and does it by shaking the very foundations of the earth during the tribulation.  I would suggest that rather than focusing on a return to normalcy we focus on sharing the gospel.

Have you made the choice to accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord? If not, I hope you will consider doing it today. You can do this by simply praying a prayer like this one:

Jesus I know I am a sinner and have broken your commandments and sinned against you. I believe you died and rose again for me as a sacrifice for my sins. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart so that I can begin to live for you. Amen.

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Bread of Life

 

‘Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”   Matthew 13:33. NKJV

As I write these words, most if not all in this country are feeling the effects of a very cold and snowy winter.  Although not unexpected in the part of the country I live in, much of the south has been introduced lately to the type of weather I unfortunately have had to grow accustomed to.  Cold and snow definitely interfere with my normal activities as I spend most of my time outside either working in my yard, or in my shop woodworking.  Since my shop is unheated and uninsulated, I find myself mostly housebound during the winter months longing for spring and the opportunity to get back outside.

A little over a month ago, bored out of my mind, I decided to try once again to master the art of baking bread.  I say again because I have tried before and failed miserably, the running joke in the family being Dad is great at making focaccia because my bread always collapsed and ended up being an inch thick or so.  This time using a wonderful book along with the magic of YouTube, what now emerges from my oven, as you can see from the picture above, is actual bread.  Yet what I find to be the most amazing thing about this loaf is that it only contains less than I/2 teaspoon of yeast.

As you might expect from me, while learning the in’s and out’s of bread making and watching the process of the yeast begin to work, I found myself contemplating the subject of leaven in the Bible and all of the instructions to avoid it.  In fact, the use of unleavened bread is commanded by God in the three pilgrimage feasts of Israel that all Jews who were able to travel were required to attend at the temple in Jerusalem.

“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year:“You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty);“and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.  Exodus 23:14-16. NKJV

Scholars agree that the use of the word leaven in the Bible always refers to a type of sin, and such is the reason God commanded the Israelites to avoid it at all costs.  Yet although this is the case, it certainly seems surprising to see Jesus’ use of it as an illustration in His parable that we find in Matthew 13 which I shared at the beginning of this article.  Jesus telling His audience that the Kingdom of God would be filled with sinners would certainly raise a few eyebrows at that time but Jesus already knew full well it was His mission on earth to die for our sin in order to make a way for us to enter the Kingdom.  Imagine what it must have sounded like to His audience of Jews, yet in the back of their minds I have to wonder if they thought about the one Feast of Israel which also used leaven.

‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. ‘Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. ‘You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD.  Leviticus 23:15-17. NKJV

This feast, which we call Pentecost after its Greek name, was the day in which many believe the Church was born as a result of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the disciples.  To the Jews, it is celebrated as the day that Moses came down from Mt. Sinai carrying the Ten Commandments.  The question remains, however, why two loaves of unleavened bread?  I believe as many others do, that the use of two loaves symbolizes two different groups of people, the Jews and Gentiles.  It was, in fact, prophetic in that it was God’s way of saying Jews would commemorate the giving of the Law and at a future time the Gentile Church would celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit.

Two loaves, two peoples, both groups made up of sinners, but acceptable to God by the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on a cross as payment for our sin.  If you have never chosen to accept the gift of eternal life provided for us by God the Father, I would urge you to do it today.  Time to make that choice is indeed rapidly running out and Jesus returning to take His own back with Him to heaven could happen at any time.  All you need to do is simply ask Him for forgiveness for your sin, invite Him to come into your life, and believe He died to pay the price for your redemption.  A simple prayer like this is all that He wants to hear from you.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen.

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